Cowboy Lu Bop
by Wario the TableMan
Summary: Drama at it's finest


Luigi loaded the last bullet into the barrel. He coughed into his sleeve and turned his head back toward the scene. Shotgun shells whizzed past his cheek, nicking him ever so slightly and shattering a glass bottle in the process.

"Get out here and fight like a man, Luigi!" roared Larry Koopa as he fired again. "Or are you all talk and no bite?"

Luigi counted to three and then launched himself across the floor in a roll. He ducked under a table as he avoided he incoming barrage of terrapin ammunition. He knocked down a second table and kicked it toward Larry. Larry was swept off his feet and the shotgun went flying sky high.

The butt of the shotgun slammed onto the floor and released one final shell at the ceiling, causing the overhead chandelier to burst into tiny glass fragments. Luigi ran up to the fallen Koopaling and gave him a swift knee to the bottom jaw.

Larry was out cold, Luigi stole the handgun hidden away in Larry's suit pocket and holstered his own gun. He ran out of the bar and into the streets. It was only seconds later that more goons initiated their pursuit. Luigi saw Roy and Iggy racing toward him in an armed kart.

"Hold it, bigshot!" called Roy as he mounted the kart's turret and blasted away at the plumber. Luigi ran as fast as he could through crowds of Toads and Shy Guys. He pushed them as far out of the way as he could in order to prevent as many casualties on his behalf as he could. Of course, it was impossible to keep the Koopalings from nailing a few innocent bystanders, but Luigi could not help but feel he could have done better.

He fled into a narrow alleyway, hoping to lose his pursuers. Unfortunately, the Koopalings had anticipated his escape route. Luigi was then face to face with Ludwig and a nasty Bill Blaster.

"End of the line, plumber boy!" laughed Ludwig cockily as he fired a Bullet Bill at Luigi. Luigi dodged and socked Ludwig in the gut with all his might. Ludwig spiraled into the wall and Luigi jumped down into the sewers.

Roy and Iggy soon arrived at the centre of the alleyway. "Where is he?" Roy barked at Ludwig.

"He's down that pipe over there," Ludwig fumbled out. He nodded to the green pipe at the end of the alley.

"No time for any more foolin' round. Ludwig, you get back to the car and deal with that broken wrist of ya's. When Morton drops by, give 'im the lowdown and have him meet us in da sewers."

Ludwig obeyed and hobbled off. Roy and Iggy then plunged into the alleyway's depths.

… … … … … …

Luigi felt his way around the corner, panting frantically. His leg finally gave out and he slid down the wall and onto his rear. He folded his pant leg up and examined the wound he had received from the attack from earlier. Larry had got him good with the shotgun. He would not be running any further.

He knew that the Koopalings were hot on his tail even now. They would not be slowed down by the little detour that he took. He could not back down himself though; those thugs had to pay for their transgressions.

"Yoshi…" Luigi whispered to himself, remembering his fallen comrade. "We won't let 'em go, pal…"

He suddenly heard approaching footsteps. Luigi held Larry's pistol tight and prepared to take the first strike. He bolted up from his position, ignoring the soreness in his right leg and pointed the barrel at the newcomer's forehead.

"It's-a me, Luigi!" cried Mario flinging his hands up.

"Bro!" Luigi quickly lowered his weapon. "Are they on your end as well?"

"I just had a run in with Wendy and Lemmy at the bus stop. Managed to slip away, but I guarantee you, they are in these-a pipes."

"Ain't that a pickle…" Luigi said with an uneasy smile. He winced as the pain returned to his senses. Mario helped him stand. "I'll be fine. We can't back down though, bro. Yoshi wouldn't deserve anything but."

"I know, but you're not acting like yourself. You were always the one to overthink things, but now you're not thinking at all."

Luigi smirked. He then stepped away from Mario breathing heavily. "I don't get it either… I guess it's an instinct or something."

"Luigi, stop being stubborn. You'll-a end up regretting it all!"

"When I'm done with the Koopalings there'll be no such thing as 'regrets', Mario…"

Mario sighed, annoyed by his younger brother's indiscretion and ran after him.

… … … … … …

"There you are!" roared Roy from across the gulley. He signaled to Iggy and fired two shots at Mario and Luigi. The brother's dodged and ran away as fast as they could. "Get those fools!"

Mario and Luigi's escape was cut short when they came face to face with Wendy and Lemmy. The two fired at the brothers. They were lucky enough to get away with their heads once again.

The two found a lift that would allow them to exit the pipe maze. Unfortunately, that meant they had to wait quite a time before they could break free of the pursuit.

All four Koopalings were able to catch up with the brothers in that amount of time. The began to fire rounds. Luigi kicked a girder over to block the incoming assault and Mario shot back to keep the chasers at bay.

Luigi jumped in to fire, but soon came to the realization that the pistol he had stolen from Larry was empty. With only one bullet left in his own pistol, he chose to save it for when the time truly came.

The lift finally arrived after what seemed like centuries. "Let's-a go!" yipped Mario right before a Bill dug deep into his shoulder. Mario cried out in pain and slammed his head against the girder, causing it to fall over and leaving the two wide open.

Luigi made haste and dragged Mario into the lift. The door slammed shut and the two brothers were finally home free.

"Mario, are you okay?" said Luigi holding Mario close. Mario had received two more shots to the back before they had made it inside the lift.

"They got me good, Luigi, but I'm still in it to win it. This party doesn't end until one of us becomes the superstar after all."

Luigi was relieved. He then looked down to see that his own arm was bleeding profusely. He had not even yet noticed, and now the pain was finally setting in. "We'll be fine though. The both of us."

Mario nodded and then sadly turned to Luigi. "But when we get to the top, they'll still be coming…" He exhaled and picked up his pistol. "You go on and I'll give 'em what's for, Luigi."

"You're going to stay in here, Mario?"

"I gotta. I'mm-a just slow you down in my current state."

Luigi sighed heavily and gave his brother one last fistbump. When the door finally opened, Luigi ran out, leaving Mario to fend for himself.

"You go be the Superstar, bro…" Mario said with a faint smile. He stood up and prepared to fire as soon as trouble decided to rear its ugly head yet again.

… … … … … …

Luigi made his way into the clocktower. There were gears and pendula blocking his path, but thanks to the hearty parkour skills he and his brother had honed across the years, he was able to traverse seemingly impossible traps. The jumps were hard on his right leg though, and it did not help that each movement felt like his entire arm was being ripped from the socket.

"So you're finally here, eh?" said a ghastly familiar voice.

Luigi turned and saw his foe right in front of him: Waluigi. They practically stood chest to chest. It was really amazing how the pointy-nosed assassin could move around such an environment with that amount of stealth. Luigi readied his pistol and pointed it directly under Waluigi's chin.

"You don't have the guts to pull that trigger," said Waluigi with an evil grin. "You never could before, you never will now."

"You killed a dear friend of mine. I won't let you do that to anyone else," growled Luigi.

"I'd like to see you try to stop me." Waluigi pulled flipped a switch and triggered the boisterous chime from within the clock. The sound caught Luigi by surprise and he backed off, leaving his opponent enough time to administer a quick kick to the gut.

Luigi was launched from the platform and felt down an assortment of cogs and wires. Waluigi laughed and ran off. Luigi regained composure and grabbed one of the side of the massive second hand. He crawled back to his feet and ran off after the killer.

… … … … … …

After a while Luigi ended up in a room filled with doors. He could here Waluigi's sickening cackle echo off the walls. He checked each room, but found nothing. The sound grew louder and louder though. Moments later, as Luigi entered the lobby, shots homed down on him from above. He tucked and rolled to behind a column. He noticed the barrage of Bullet Bills was coming from the Koopalings.

Luigi had only one shot to spare, and it was not for the Koopa kids. But he did have a backup plan. "Burn, baby, burn…" he said in a smug tone as he tossed his pulled his Fire Flower from his pocket and tossed it into the centre of the room. The random movement caught the Koopaling's attention. They ended up shooting at the flower and the whole room burst into a fiery blaze.

Luigi used this opportunity to run away and find Waluigi. Several minutes later, he finally found what he was looking for. Waluigi sat by a piano in front of a large stained glass window. The conniving scoundrel twirled his pistol around nonchalantly. Luigi pointed his gun at Waluigi. "It's over. You made me miss once, but I don't intend to make the same mistake twice. Scum like you deserves to be wiped from the planet."

Waluigi grinned at Luigi and quickly brought his pistol back into firing position. He blasted a Bill at Luigi and nearly pegged him in the forehead. Luigi was lucky enough to dodge, and survived with nothing but a burning cut in his right cheek. "Looks like you still don't hesitate… to hesitate."

Waluigi ran off again, but Luigi was ready this time. He ran as fast as he could and tackled the purple purloiner. The two staggered around the room. Luigi directed their wrestling to the stained glass window. When they reached it, the floor below gave out and Waluigi fell backwards smashing the glass. As the two fell from the two stories above, Luigi locked eyes with his foe, pointed his pistol at him, and let loose his final shot.

Waluigi was dead before he even hit the ground.

Luigi was still alive when he hit the ground though, and the impact made it feel as though he had shattered every single bone in his body. However, he still found the strength to rise and stumble away from the scene. Before leaving everything behind, he glanced over at Waluigi's corpse and sighed. "We could have been destined for so much more…"

The Toad Town police soon arrived on the scene and aimed their guns at Luigi. "Drop your weapon!"

Luigi smirked at the order and raised his thumb and forefinger to the officers. "Bang," he interjected defiantly before collapsing to the ground, breathing his last.


End file.
